Airdrie United v Clyde

Recap

Clyde travelled to Airdrie full of confidence after a seven game unbeaten run, however they returned to Cumbernauld with no points after a poor display against the Diamonds.

Clyde fielded an unchanged starting eleven, whilst Airdrie fielded ex-Clyde loan signing Kevin McDonald as well as Xavi Barrau. Both players would have a key impact on the game.

Airdrie came into the game on the back of a 2-0 win at Gretna and they started the game with plenty of confidence, with Chris Higgins having to be sharp to deny Brian McPhee. The first effort on goal came after a controversial moment. A long ball was claimed by Peter Cherrie, however he caught the ball outside of the box. The assistant referee awarded the freekick but no card was shown. McDonald’s effort was blocked.

McPhee’s power was causing Clyde problems and from one of his knockdowns, a hesitant Cherrie allowed Gary Twigg a sight of goal. Fortunately the weak shot struck the side netting.

Clyde then started to take their time and keep the ball and twice McGowan produced pacy crosses, which were cleared. On the other side, Eddie Malone was left on the ground by a dreadful tackle by Twigg for which he was rightly booked. Another referee may have given a different colour of card but Stuart Dougal was happy not to dish cards out for trivial offences, so the decision was fair.

A neat move then saw Malone cross to McGowan but he saw his header across goal cleared from under the crossbar by Stuart Taylor. The final attacking action from Clyde saw a whipped freekick by Stephen O’Donnell clip the top of the crossbar.

There was still time for McDonald, who impressed throughout with his neat passing and skill, to sidestep a challenge in the box, only to hit his effort straight at Cherrie.

Overall, it had been a poor first half and Airdrie came out of the blocks at the start of the second half, desperate to add a goal to their possession. It came within five minutes, as Twigg flicked a throw-in on and Barrau was there to head home via his own shoulder.

Clyde has reacted well to setbacks this season, particularly against both Hamilton and Morton and they were level within 5 minutes. A Malone freekick was cleared as far as McGowan who spun past two defenders before hitting a low cross into the box. It was cleared as far as O’Donnell who struck the ball high into the net from the edge of the box. A decent finish and Clyde were undeservedly level.

For a time it seemed like the goal had knocked the stuffing out of Airdrie; Clyde were passing the ball well and starting to get Dougie Imrie into the game. He was tripped inside the box however missed the chance to win a penalty by trying to play on.

Soon the game descended into being a carbon copy of the first half, with Airdrie having plenty of possession. A powerful freekick from McDonald was well saved by Cherrie. Clyde then introduced Gary Arbuckle for Andy Ferguson in a bid to change things but within a minute Airdrie moved back in front. Clyde’s midfield were dragged into a deep position and when the ball was cleared, McDonald had time to crack home a lovely strike into the bottom left corner.

Steven Masterton was thrown on for Craig McKeown, as with only 15 minutes left Clyde should have launched an instant barrage of attacks on the Airdrie goal. However, it took until stoppage time for a decent effort on goal. A superb Paul McHale cross was cleared from three in-rushing Clyde players by a brilliant touch by Airdrie’s goalkeeper, Stephen Robertson. A Malone free kick was then held underneath his bar by the under worked Robertson as Clyde’s hopes of a late equaliser petered out.